1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and in more detail, to an information processing apparatus that can dynamically generate a user interface that displays only selectable icons for functions for which a user has use authority.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, a Plug and Play Extensions (PnP-X) function is normally mounted in Windows (registered trademark) Vista that is an OS (Operating System) of Microsoft (registered trademark) Co., Ltd. When a peripheral such as a printer is connected to an information processing apparatus that mounts the PnP-X function via a network with a WSD protocol, the printer notifies the information processing apparatus of this connection by transmitting a Hallo message of WS-Discovery, and transmits detailed information of the printer to the information processing apparatus. In response thereto, the information processing apparatus displays the printer in a network folder as a WSD compliant device.
When the user selects the printer displayed in the network folder, the information processing apparatus obtains, from the printer, capability information that describes the functions and performance of the printer. The information processing apparatus generates a printer driver based on the obtained capability information, and automatically installs the printer driver. At this time, a user interface such as a print property screen page is defined based on the capability information. Concerning this point, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2009-59365 (Patent Document 1) discloses a printing system that obtains function information unique to a machine type from a printer to generate a printer driver, and automatically installs the printer driver.
However, for the above-mentioned network printing system, in a case where a different usage limitation is set for each user concerning various functions of the printer, the following problem may occur. That is, in the related art, a printer driver displays a user interface in such a manner that all the functions of a printer are selectable. Therefore, a user who does not have use authority for some functions of the printer is to endure being denied execution of a function even when the user selects the function in response to a display of icons in a printer property screen page.